To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
Essentially, this bill is a scare tactic by some of the nuttier Democrats (Chuck Rangel, Jim McDermott, etc.) trying to make people think "OMG the Bush administration's warmongering is going to get me drafted!" There's no possible way this bill will pass. See also: http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp
Sergeant Thorne wrote:There's no way women should be drafted.
Why the hell not? In this age of equal opprotunity, why the hell shouldnt they be expected to put their butts on the line in times of dire need? I say if they arent willing to get drafted along with males then they should get back in the kitchen with no rights since they wont defend them.
I agree with Avder (that's scary ). If I'm going to be drafted and put my life on the line to defend my country, I expect all of my fellow citizens to be treated likewise, regardless of gender. I wonder what feminazis feel about women and the draft. Probably some bullcrap about the male "aggressive military complex" . Seriously, though, if women are supposed to be in full legal equality with men, then the draft should apply to them as well.
Testiculese wrote:Why not? Because women don't start this **** in the first place, that's why.
I think there's some sense in that, yeah.
To the rest, it's because women are very different. Some rebel against the fact, but no amount of attitude can make a women equal to a man on many levels.
There isn't going to be a draft. The proposal we have here is just some of the nuttier senate Democrats trying to scare people into voting Bush out of office. They don't have anywhere close to the votes to pass that bill, which is why it's sat there in committees for so long.
Look at the dates on HR.163 and S.89 (type in either number here to read the bills.) January 7, 2003. The bills have languished for a year and a half without a vote, because as soon as they come to one, they're going to fail.
So you're a fan of brainwashing, and preventing independent thought? Just what we need in this country. Young, easily manipulated minds at the hands of the military. Mandatory. Yea, real bright.
I feel that the negatives to something like "boot camp for everyone" would be along the lines of: lack of proper leadership to lead such boot camps, the fact that thus leadership would also soften boot camp for those that are "serious" about the military, and the fact that boot camp costs taxpayer money. I feel that women should be included in the draft, though. As long as a person doesn't have any physical defects (can pass a proper physical), then I've got no problem with them going to war. I would proudly serve my country if I were to be drafted, live or die. Do I think the draft will ever happen? I doubt it. If it ever happens again, it won't happen for a long time, unless worldly unrest circulates, and we end up in a massive WW3.
WarAdvocat wrote:Personally I don't think that universal military service as a prerequisite for exercising the franchise is a bad idea.
Testiculese wrote:So you're a fan of brainwashing, and preventing independent thought? Just what we need in this country. Young, easily manipulated minds at the hands of the military. Mandatory. Yea, real bright.
Maybe a 'civil' service option would be wise as well.
But universal service as a prerequisite for exercise of the franchise would re-value it, IMO.
Women don't have to necessarily hold a gun at the front line. There are countless military jobs that don't require being on the front lines. I think women should go if I have to. Not that I would if drafted.
The bill is not necessarily unusual, several countries have a mandatory government service period for the equivalent of a High School graduate. While the service tends to be military, they are not all front line soldier positions. On one hand, I think it's the government trying to get cheap, almost forced labor, OTOH I also think it's a good idea for people to go into some form of mandatory government service for a short while after graduation; say, 2 years max. Unfortuantely with a mandatory military service, there will be those that are able to "buy" their way out of, or have parents in high enough positions that allow them to avoid service, as is sometimes the case in the nations with these programs. It is not a perfect system.
If you were smart, like me Then you would know you could just go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in a portion of the quoted material such as perform a period of military service in the word/phrase search window to pull up the exact bill in question. If you were smart like me